Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Viewpoints: Loneliness Has Serious Health Repercussions; The Filibuster Is Ruining Our Health Care
The Boston Globe: Feeling Lonely? You’re Not Alone
Well before the COVID-19 pandemic, America had a loneliness problem. Data from 2011 showed that nearly a quarter of adults 65 and older who were not in long-term care were socially isolated. A few years later, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, in his first stint as America’s doctor, from 2014 to 2017, embarked on a listening tour of the country. He anticipated hearing about opioid addiction and heart disease but was not prepared to discover that another scourge was undermining the mental and physical welfare of millions of Americans: a lack of human connection. The epiphany inspired Murthy to declare loneliness a public health crisis and to write a book, published last year: “Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World. ”Today, loneliness has become “so much more prevalent and dire,” says Caitlin Coyle, a research fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, who studies aging. And as it always has been, it is especially bad for older people. (Elizabeth Preston, 7/1)
Newsweek: The Filibuster Is An Assault On Our Health Care. End It
Every American should have access to health care. I'm a cancer survivor, and the treatments I went through saved my life. The chemotherapy and radiation I endured led me to remission, and the Affordable Care Act provided health insurance to pay for it. However, the ACA is imperfect and leaves too many uncovered or unable to afford care today. Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has rejected the latest challenge to the Affordable Care Act, it's time we build on the successes of Obamacare and deliver legislation to expand health care to more Americans. (Laura Packard, 7/1)
Scientific American: Transgender Patients Deserve Better Medical Care
"This isn’t something I do. ”Patients do not want to hear this from doctors. Yet, sadly, many of my transgender patients have heard this from at least one medical provider. (David Rosenthal, 7/1)
The Charlotte Observer: Medical Marijuana Bill Proposed In NC Isn’t Expansive Enough
The fact that N.C. legislators are finally considering legalizing medical marijuana is reason to celebrate. (July 1) But it is being used for political gain. One sponsor, Sen. Bill Rabon, a cancer survivor, says use should be restricted to those with cancer, PTSD, and a few other conditions. Unfortunately, many of us who deal with crippling daily chronic pain (for many reasons) are not included. (7/1)
The Washington Post: D.C. Balances Public Health And Racial Sensitivities In Its Menthol Ban
The D.C. Council voted Tuesday to ban the sale of all flavored tobacco products — including fruity e-cigarette liquids, candy-tinged cigars and menthol cigarettes — entering a thicket of racially charged controversy and emerging with a reasonable compromise plan to promote public health. The legislation began as a proposal targeting flavored e-cigarette liquids such as bubble gum and mango, which were obviously designed to appeal to children. But if the council banned only flavored e-cigarette liquids, they could push children, particularly those already hooked on nicotine, toward far more dangerous products still permitted to be flavored, such as combustible cigarettes cut with menthol, an additive that ameliorates the harshness of cigarette smoke. So council members moved to ban those, too. (7/1)
